Page 135 of Legacy of Chaos

“Wow.” She pulled away from him to fetch her mug of hot cocoa. “That’s an incredible offer. Can I think about it?”

“Sure,” he said. “But you should know that I’m willing to pay anything, and I always get what I want.”

She smiled at him from over the rim of her mug. “Your mom said you were always relentless.”

“When did she say that?”

“While you were showing your dad and brothers the lab.” Cyan took a sip of her cocoa, leaving her with a whipped cream mustache. “She wanted to let me know what to expect with the baby. She’s really excited.”

“So am I. And it’s not only about Chaos. It’s about being a father.”

Taking a seat on the couch, she patted the cushion next to her. “Tell me about Chaos. We’ve never really talked much about him.”

Stryke smiled, and it occurred to him that talking about Chaos no longer brought soul-crushing pain. Yes, he would forever mourn the boy who had died too soon, but he would always be grateful for the chance to love him again.

“He was a lot like Mace,” he said, sinking down next to her. “The kid was always looking for trouble and dragging Crux along with him. It was funny because poor Crux was the exact opposite. He was the voice of reason and the one who would take the blame for the trouble Chaos caused.”

“Sounds like he was a handful.”

“That’s definitely the word most associated with Chaos,” he said. “If he loved something, he was obsessed about it. If he hated something, he let you know. And he definitely had plans for the future.”

“Really? What kinds of plans?”

“He planned to either rule the world or serve with Revenant in Sheoul. He wanted to get mated at exactly ninety-three yearsold, name his first kid Chasm, and swore he’d be the first openly demon person to scale Mt. Everest.”

“Wow. He had ambition.” She laughed. “Serve with Revenant?”

“Yeah. He thought that if he cozied up to the King of Hell, he’d have street cred with his friends.”

She laughed again. “That’s adorable.” She looked down at her belly and placed her hand over it. “You know, we haven’t talked about what we should name the baby. It’s not like we have to decide soon, but there’s an elephant in the womb.”

His heart stuttered for a second. “You want to know if I think we should name the baby after him.”

She nodded.

Would naming a child after themselves be weird? More importantly, would it be right? This baby might be born with Chaos’s soul, but he’d be his own person. He probably wouldn’t even remember his past life.

“No,” he said. “I’d like to find a better way to honor him.”

“Well,” she said, “what about Chasm? He obviously loved the name, and he never got a chance to use it.”

He drew in a quick breath. “Chasm is perfect.”

He waited for the sense of guilt to overtake him, but instead, there was only acceptance. He thought of the words Gabriel had said once during a training session in Ares’ combat arena.

“Guilt is an emotion designed to teach you a lesson. Not destroy you. Guilt will make you suffer, as intended, but once you learn your lesson, make amends, forgive yourself, and become a better person. Live a good life and never forget what it taught you.”

At the time, Stryke had been bored, his mind working on other things instead of listening to Heavenly propaganda. But even though Stryke had been one of seven students, it hadseemed to him, even then, that Gabriel had been speaking directly to him.

And he had, hadn’t he?

Gabriel had known what was going to happen to Chaos.

The realization blew his mind, and yet, it made so much sense. So much of his life was starting to make sense, and it had all happened because of Cyan.

Do it. Do it now.

He couldn’t think of a better moment. Reaching into his pocket, he drew out the little velvet pouch he’d been carrying around all morning.

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